Mollie Shannon Amelia
by Trekkerpoet29
Summary: For luftangrepp, who wrote "again, someone please write that fic that I need where Janeway adopts this baby [the Borg infant from 6 x 16 "Collective"] and calls her Mollie." I hope that you like it.
1. Chapter 1

Mollie Shannon Amelia

a fanfiction by trekkerpoet29.

I do not own these characters, nor am I making any money off of this story, but this interpretation of luftangrepp's call for fiction is all mine, and it is copyright. It is also un-beta'd, so any and all mistakes are my own.

For luftangrepp, who wrote "again, someone please write that fic that I need where Janeway adopts this baby and calls her Mollie." I hope that you like it.

She is tiny in the incubator, wrapped in a thick purple blanket. I didn't think she could possibly survive. She would not be the first baby to breathe her last in that incubator, either.

I do not want to think about Naomi, but it is impossible. We are so far from Vidiian space that my mind cannot help but remember the other Voyager, the one on which Naomi survived and Harry was not sucked out into an icy death in space. Their ship, undamaged, should have been the one that survived. Naomi did not die in their incubator, but the other Janeway destroyed the other Voyager—her Voyager—as I would have done, when the Vidiians boarded her ship and not mine. She gave us her Harry and her Naomi. And it was almost as if they had never died. Almost.

But then, we found the children. Seven of Nine left this little bundle on a bio-bed, knowing that she would die if she remained on the Cube, and that she may die aboard Voyager.

The Doctor handed her to me, and as soon as she was in my arms, she took hold of my heart. This tiny baby, heavier than her size would lead you to expect because of her unfinished Borg implants. If she survived, I could raise her as my daughter. She would be an unnamed orphan in the eyes of The Federation, and the Doctor would draw up the necessary paperwork… I would name her Shannon, no, Mollie. Mollie Shannon Amelia Janeway. But, I tried to prepare myself for the likely outcome. She may die. She may be too dependent on her unfinished Borg implants for her premature organs to adapt to life outside the Collective. Her underdeveloped implants may be too cumbersome for her premature organs to reject. The rejection alone could kill her, let alone her prematurity, let alone the shock of being severed from the Collective so recently after her separation from her mother.

But here she was. Small, Borg, and a perfect little person. I decided then that I had spent so long living on contingencies: when we get home, I will; when we get home, we can; when we get home. I would not wait to see what would happen.

"Doctor." I said. He looked at me, probably assuming that Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager could not be bothered to hold a Borg infant. "Doctor, I want you to draw up a birth certificate for her. And adoption papers." He began to say something, but I silenced him. "I will not allow her to die a nameless, abandoned casualty of the Borg."

"Very well, what did you have in mind? Shall I write that Voyager is her mother?"

"No, Doctor." I rolled my eyes, careful to keep my voice down so as not to wake her. "I am." He was stunned silent, and he picked up a PADD.

"What would you like to name her, Captain?"

"Mollie Shannon Amelia Janeway."

"A lovely name. Mollie from the Latin meaning 'star of the sea.'"

Shannon, after my ancestor, and Amelia after Amelia Earhart, whom we met, here in the 24th Century in the Delta Quadrant, of al places."

"Captain, I cannot say whether or not Mollie will survive,"  
>"I know."<p>

"But—and I hope I am not overstepping my bounds—I want to be certain that if she does, that you will be prepared to parent her for the rest of your, or her, natural lifetime."

"I am, Doctor. How soon can you have the documents drawn?"

"If you will feed her, I'll have it done immediately."

"Of course. We need to bond, after all."

"Yes, Captain."

We sat on a bio-bed, and I fed her, burped her, sang to her, and held her. I enjoyed being close to her in a way that I had not enjoyed being close to anyone in quite a long time.

"I'm going to be… Hi, little one, I'm your mom. I'm going to take care of you, Mollie. I love you very much."

When Naomi was born, I'd made her a blanket. I would make one for Mollie, too, I knew, though I hoped it would indeed be a baby blanket and not a burial shroud. The Doctor walked in with a PADD that I put my thumb to as a signature. And then I was a mother. Her mother. Mollie's mother. Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager, daughter of Admiral Edward and Mrs. Gretchen Janeway, sister of Phoebe, and mother of Mollie.

"When can I take her home, Doctor?"

"As soon as she stabilizes, Captain, but I don't see why we couldn't make the lab a more comfortable place for you to stay. You should each get used to being together, and she should get used to the sound of your voice, your touch, the smell of your perfume…"

"Thank you, Doctor. I'm sure we'll do well. I want her to come home as soon as possible."

"I'll do my best, Captain, but it's up to Mollie."

~TBC~


	2. Chapter 2

I strode into Sickbay. As the doors opened, the Doctor turned around. "Ah, Captain, just the person I wanted to see."

"Hello, Doctor. How is my little girl today?"

"Like her mother, she has no problem making her demands known." The Doctor said as he turned away, though not so fast that he didn't see the devastating glare I gave him. It was difficult for me to be angry, though. A demanding child had to mean that Mollie was growing stronger, and I rejoiced.

"I was wondering if I might be able to take her on a few field trips, Doctor?"

"If you mean bringing her with you to work, then absolutely not."

"I've already modified the duty rosters. Less time on the Bridge, more time working in my quarters so that I can spend more time with Mollie, and I've arranged child care for her in the event of an emergency, as well as for my Bridge shifts. All of the arrangements are in her file."

"So they are, Captain. I must confess, I am both delighted and surprised."

"But I thought perhaps I could take her out to see pieces of the ship. Quiet places, of course, but maybe an hour in my quarters one day, an hour in the Holodeck another. I think it would be good for her development if she was able to experience different environments. Only when she is able to, of course. I'd like her to see the stars."

"Maternal instincts?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"I'd prefer that we worked our way up to an hour, but I agree that a "change of scenery" would do our patient well. You may take Mollie on a 15-minute stroll, provided that she wears several monitors. You seem surprised, Captain."

"I was expecting much more resistance, Doctor."

"Fifteen minutes, and no more. If she shows any signs of distress, return to Sickbay immediately." He said as he affixed the monitors.

"Would you mind if I replicated an outfit for her?"

"Go right ahead."

I went over to the replicator and pulled up a file I had saved with outfits I'd hoped Mollie would be able to wear. In the end, I chose an eyelet dress made of pale pink cotton with a matching diaper cover, and a white cotton hat with a ribbon the same color as the dress. At the last moment, I also replicated soft white booties like the ones I'd worn when my parents took posed pictures of me as an infant. Then, I set about dressing Mollie, which was much more difficult than I'd anticipated. She had never worn clothing, and was not at all sure that she liked it. The Doctor took photographs of the whole process, which aggravated me at the time, but for which I was incredibly grateful. He then took a picture of Mollie and I. She was so beautiful when she decided that she was, in fact, okay. I could not remember the last time I had smiled so brightly.

"Okay, Miss Mollie, are you ready to take a walk with Mama?"

We took a leisurely stroll around the deck. Fifteen minutes was not long enough to go anywhere, but it didn't matter. I was deliriously happy. All too soon, we returned to Sickbay, where Mollie had a bottle, and I told her all about her grandparents, her aunt, about my life, and about Earth.

"I hope you'll learn to walk in the Janeway homestead in Bloomington, and not on Voyager." I whispered into her ear as I burped her. She gave a big burp, and I decided that we were in agreement. Then, as I looked at her and held her in my arms, she looked at me, and fell asleep in my arms. "Doctor." I whispered.

He rushed in as if there was an emergency, then smiled and took another photograph. "She is precious, isn't she?"

"Yes." I smiled.

"Captain, I believe I may be able to remove the implants…"

I cut him off. "It can wait, Doctor." I was torn between feeling that her survival was incredible and my not wanting to do anything that might endanger her, wanting her to be as fully human as possible, and knowing that each day that I delayed removing her implants would only make them more difficult and more dangerous to remove. But she was so small…

"I wouldn't bring it up if I thought it would endanger her in any way, Captain."

"Of course you wouldn't, Doctor…"

"You're her mother, Captain. It's normal for you to be overly protective. I'd start with non-essential implants, of course, and move slowly, but I do think it's best we begin sooner rather than later."

"When are you proposing?"

"I thought perhaps now, as I'm sure you'll want to be present. I consulted with Seven of Nine about the stages that the maturation chambers move through in each cycle. I'll start with the least developed non-essential implants, and work my way up to the more complex implants. As she is the least assimilated of the drones, I think Mollie's restoration will be the greatest success yet."

"Very well, Doctor. Of course, I want to stay."

"Of course, Captain. If you'll bring her into the surgical bay…"

I kissed her head and explained what was going to happen even though she was asleep and even though she wouldn't understand. "But don't you worry, baby, Mama will be here the whole time." I put her down on the bio-bed and the Doctor administered hypo-sprays and began to work.

My stomach was in knots the entire time. I was sure it was normal for a mother to have this sense of dread each time her child was undergoing surgery, but it didn't feel normal.

"Mollie will require more surgeries than the other children, but I assure you that my goal is to do this in the way that will be least traumatic for her." The Doctor said as he monitored Mollie before lifting her sedation. I knew it would be risky. I knew everything about Mollie's life would be risky. She hadn't been assimilated fully, but she had been assimilated, and the immature systems might not react in the expected manner. I tried to unknot my stomach. Everything seemed promising. Then, something was wrong. All the monitors were beeping and flashing.

"What's wrong, Doctor?"

"I don't know." He rushed to administer medication. "Doctor to Seven of Nine, prepare for emergency transport."

I prepared the site-to-site transport immediately, and Seven materialized in Sickbay.

"What happened?"

"The operation went exactly as predicted. Mollie crashed when I lifted the anesthesia."

"We must re-assimilate the infant." Seven said.

"No!" I yelled. "There must be another way!"

"She's getting worse!"

And then Seven injected nanoprobes into Mollie's neck.

"Let me hold her!" I cried. "Leave us!"

Seven left without a word, and the Doctor retreated to his office, where he no doubt was remotely monitoring Mollie.

"Hey, baby, it's okay. Mama's here." I whispered as I held her close to me. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise. You're going to be okay, baby." The color was leaving her face, and tears began to fall from my eyes. I cried harder with each implant that erupted. There were more implants in her body now than there were before her operation. I didn't know how much time had passed, and I didn't hear the Doctor come back into the surgical bay.

"I'm so sorry, Captain."

TBC

A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites. I don't quite know how long this fic will be, as I have several ideas for where this might go, but fear not! It is not over yet!


	3. Chapter 3

Mollie Shannon Amelia, Chapter 3

By trekkerpoet29

I would make a terrible Ferengi, as I am making no profits off of this creative little venture of mine. I don't own the characters, but the plot of this story is all mine, and I own it.

Thank you again for your continued readership, and for your reviews, follows, and favorites. Here we go again! This is a short chapter, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same.

Kathryn Janeway, Personal Log

When Seven was still aboard the Borg cube, she was able to retrieve the assimilation records of the children. They were small pieces of their former lives, but far from inconsequential, as the children are beginning to face life outside of the Collective. We had Seven's file when she was severed from the Hive mind, as well as gigaquads of data from her parents' research… Their logs, biographical information. I know that it was difficult for her to read their logs, and difficult for her to regain her humanity, but I have to believe that it helped her to adjust. When Jean-Luc was severed from the Collective, he was able to move back into his life with his memories, though I am sure that it was not nearly as smooth a transition as it appeared from outside of the Enterprise. I was never fully assimilated, but the adjustment…

When Seven was still on the Cube, collecting "relevant data" she was unable to find Mollie's assimilation file. It may never have existed. Mollie would have been "assimilated" as a true subunit of her mother, assimilated the way a parasite in a salmon is eaten when the salmon is eaten by a bear. They may not have felt her to be relevant until after she completed her cycles in the maturation chamber; she would have been given a designation and a function then, and Seven surmised that that is when her record would have been created.

I had so hoped that there would be something, anything, on that vessel for Mollie. I can't help but feel that her life will be difficult enough without the mysteries of her origins and her birthparents hanging over her head. The Doctor says that tit's possible that we may, in time, be able to identify who her parents were. If they were in Starfleet, or worked for any government or institution in the Federation, the search would not be a futile one, but I think we'll wait to cross that bridge…

Mollie and I have had a few more fieldtrips this week. She is still fully Borg, but seems stable with the portable regeneration unit. The Doctor is cautiously optimistic, and I am certain that she will recover well. She is certainly an opinionated little lady. She does not like the smell of Vulcan tea or incense, and prefers galactic background noise to classical music, but she seems to like Klingon opera, no doubt thanks to our pediatrician. She also will only tolerate being swaddled if the blanket is green, though she refuses to sleep without her purple blanket, and requires a piece of fur under her to sleep or regenerate for more than two hours at a time—the Doctor and I are grateful to Chakotay and to his medicine bundle for tipping us off to that one—and she [refers that the light remain at 17%. I am amazed not only that I figured this out from her few mewling cries, but also at the specificity of her demands. She truly is a Janeway.

End log.


	4. Chapter 4

Molly Shannon Amelia, Chapter 4

No profits, no ownership of characters or settings, I just own this little plot. This is a nice, meaty chapter (at least compared to Ch 3). Chapter 5 will be up on Friday :). Thank you all for your love!

"Doctor to Captain Janeway."

"Go ahead, Doctor."

"Captain, please report to Sickbay immediately."

"Understood, Doctor. Janeway out."

"Do you think it's about the children, Captain?" Chakotay leaned over the console to ask.

"I don't know, Chakotay. I guess we'll find out. You have the Bridge."

I walked to the turbolift distracted. It had to be about Mollie… Didn't it? I supposed it could have been about any of the children, but the Doctor and Seven of Nine would likely handle the medical decisions for the children. It would have to be a major medical decision for my presence to be needed. It had to be about Mollie. I was so worried… I lived with worry and stress on a daily basis for six years as Captain of Voyager, but a few weeks of being a mother to a high needs, fragile infant was giving me an education in an entirely new variety of stress and worry.

"What is it, Doctor?" I said as I walked into Sickbay.

"Ah, Captain." He smiled.

"Is there something wrong with Mollie?"

"I've been reviewing the readings from Mollie's last surgery,"

"And?" I interrupted, not really caring that I was interrupting.

"I believe we may be able to attempt the regeneration of Mollie's humanoid physique again. She is stable, and I've prepared a maturation chamber on the Holodeck. The simulations I've run have been promising."

"Doctor, are you suggesting that we put my daughter in a maturation chamber for the remainder of her childhood?"

"Quite the contrary, Captain. I believe that if we put her into holographic Borg technology and then operate on her with Borg instruments, we may be able to restore her physiology with a greater likelihood of success. We cannot continue to have a Borg, even an infant, on the ship. Mr. Tuvok has been making me crazy with his recitations of the security risks. She is your daughter, but I recommend we proceed."

"Are there any other options?"

"No."

I rubbed my forehead. "Very well. Janeway to Seven of Nine."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Please meet the Doctor and I in Holodeck Two. We're going to give the Doctor's proposed treatment a test drive."

"Acknowledged."

I picked Mollie up from the incubator. She had woken up in time for Seven to acknowledge her orders. I didn't want to leave her in Sickbay, though I did not want her to witness the test runs of her procedure, either. "Are you ready, Doctor?" I asked as we walked through his office to the door.

"Where do you think you're going, Captain?" I don't know about you, Doctor, but we're going to Holodeck Two. We don't want to keep Seven of Nine waiting."

On the third attempt, the Doctor slammed his hand into the console. "This should have worked!" He screamed over the beeping which indicated the failure of Mollie's procedure. Three simulations, one outcome.

"The Collective will not want her. This must work." Seven said as she reset the simulation. I knew that she was frustrated.

"We're not going to attempt this until we're sure this will work. I'm not going to risk Mollie's life unnecessarily."

"Captain…"

"Doctor, Mollie is safe, healthy, and stable. She's an infant and this is major surgery. If we have to wait until she's older, then we will. I will not let her die in order to restore her physiology."

"Yes, Captain."

"Let me know if anything changes. We're going back to Sickbay for a bottle and a diaper change."

"Please administer the hypospray next to her incubator."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Now, Mollie, I don't want you to worry. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I won't let the Doctor do anything until he's absolutely certain that nothing will go wrong. You have nothing to worry about, my little love." Mollie was over my shoulder, fighting her need to burp. Tom Paris took a picture so that I could see the face he'd dubbed "Burps are futile." He was right about the face. Eventually, after some coaxing, a burp managed to sneak past her, and I took her from my shoulder so I could look down at her face. She seemed content enough, so I rocked her as I walked our usual tracts around Sickbay.

Just as Mollie's eyes were beginning to flutter shut, the Doctor and Seven of Nine walked into Sickbay exasperated, and Tom began to treat Seven of Nine while the Doctor ranted and raved and Seven returned his frustrations with an icy contempt. I rolled my eyes, knowing that this outburst had thrown Mollie's nap potential out the nearest airlock, and I walked into the main treatment room.

"You've just thrown Mollie's nap into fluidic space, now is someone going to stop yelling and explain what's going on, or do I need to write you both up for disciplinary action and throw you in the brig?"

"I was only injured because the Doctor interfered." Seven glared at the Doctor. I rolled my eyes and looked down to Mollie, who was drinking in all of what was going on, and wondered whether she would be easier than Seven when she grew up.

The Doctor quickly argued, "She would have been more severely injured if I had not intervened!"

"What happened?" I demanded.

"I was attempting to adjust the power relays that feed the maturation chambers so that I would be able to create and fill a dampening field around the chambers. The Doctor unjustly feared a power surge and pulled me out of the relay panel, damaging my hand."

"The conduit exploded not ten seconds later!" The Doctor asserted.

"Because I was no longer regulating the power input!" Seven countered.

"Doctor, I understand that you feared for Seven's safety, but she does know what she is doing when it comes to Borg technology." Seven looked smug. "And, Seven, it isn't in your power to executively decide whether or not you're going to perform modifications."

"I… I thought it would help, Captain. I apologize."

Tom finished running the tissue and dermal regenerators over Seven's human hand.

"I appreciate that you both want to help Mollie, I do. It warms my heart to see how you love her. But as your Captain, I cannot condone you taking risks like that. She is alive, and she is healthy. I'm not going to risk that, or anyone's safety to restore her on our schedule. She'll be unassimilated when she's ready, and not a moment sooner. Have I made myself clear?"  
>"Yes, Captain." They murmured.<p>

"Dismissed."

Tom came to check on Mollie, who looked up at him with the impersonal intensity of an adult drone. He made faces at her and cooed at her until she chirped with glee. This little being, my daughter, consistently fought between her two natures, and it warmed my soul and made my heart swell with love to see, that, perhaps, her human nature might be winning.

"Captain, I am not comfortable discharging Mollie on a permanent basis, but I would like to discuss the possibility of you taking her on a few overnight visits."

Finally, some good news from Sickbay!

"How about it, little girl? Would you like to spend the night with mama?" I tickled underneath her chin and smiled. "Would you like that?" Mollie jerked in my arms differently than when she was hungry or gassy or tired. "Yes? Good! Mama would like that, too."


	5. Chapter 5

Mollie Shannon Amelia, Chapter 5

I reached Sickbay in record time. I nearly plowed into 2 crewman, and I scared an ensign half to death, but I got there. 2 minutes, forty-five seconds. "What's wrong?"

"Her vital signs are destabilizing. I'm trying to adjust them, but so far, nothing has helped."

"Hey, Mollie girl. Mama's here, baby. I need you to fight, little one. I need you to hold on and stay with me, baby girl. Can you do that?" Then, I registered pain. It was my wrist. I don't know if it just happened, or if Mollie, my infant daughter, meant to inject me with nanoprobes, but it happened. I stood with her tubules in my ulnar nerve, stunned. It was as if Mollie and I were the only beings in existence, as if time did not exist. On some level, I was aware of the Doctor scanning me; he was saying something, though I had no idea what.

Memories of life since Mollie came aboard Voyager and became my daughter played like I was watching a movie of someone else's life. I didn't think I was dying…

Our first overnight visit. I thought Mollie might enjoy getting her feet wet, so I filled the tub a few inches and got in, allowing her feet to touch the water. She screamed. It took me an hour and a half to calm her down. I read her a book, and wore her in a sling Chakotay gave me. He said that all the women on Trebus used them so they could hold their babies and still use their hands. He said he knew that it violated my no gifts rule, but that as Captain, he didn't think I'd be able to go without it. I would have to replicate a _very_ nice gift for him. I decided that Mollie and I would have dinner in the Mess Hall, like any other off-duty mother and baby. I kept Mollie in the sling, and chose a corner table by the viewport. Naomi slinked away from her table and came over to tell me how much Mollie had grown. "It's hard to believe that you were ever so small, isn't it, Naomi?" I winked. Sam called Naomi back to their table.

Neelix walked over with a bottle for Mollie and a tray of the dinner special for me. I had learned not to ask Neelix what was in his dishes, but I wasn't going to inflict any culinary experiments on Mollie. "I thought I'd try a new formulation…" He began.

"What's in her bottle, Neelix?"

"I pureed some Leola root and ginger and added it to the baby formula."

"Thank you, Neelix. I'll feed her after I've eaten." I said, though I had no intention of letting Mollie drink his formula. Then, Mollie fussed, and tipped my plate over the edge of the table and into our laps. We took a trip to Sickbay so the Doctor could give her a once-over, and examine Neelix's new and improved baby formula.

Back in our quarters, I tried to settle us in for a quiet night, but Mollie fought sleep and regeneration. I think we both eventually fell asleep on the couch…

We fared better on our second overnight. Mostly, I think, because we skipped the bath and the Mess Hall. Chakotay dropped in to see us and to tell Mollie a story (thankfully not an ancient legend) and to tell me how I might find Mollie's animal guide.

Mollie started her bedtime fussing, so Chakotay picked her up, and I went to the replicator to get her a bottle. Chakotay drank a glass of water while Mollie ate.

"What?" I smiled as he stared at me. "You never expected to watch your Captain feed her child?" I teased.

"Motherhood looks good on you." He smiled. "You seem happy. Peaceful."

"I have a life and the ship hasn't come to a grinding halt."

"We might be better than ever, Kathryn."

I looked down at Mollie, who was determined to keep her eyes open.

"The crew is so happy to see you so happy all the time. They would die for you, all of them. You being happy makes them want to work harder and be better."

"I couldn't have asked for a better crew." I lifted my eyes to Chakotay's and smiled.

"He smiled, too, and said, "You did, remember?" We both laughed.

"I'd better put her down. I'll be right back."

Chakotay nodded, and I put her down in her bassinet, and plugged the portable regenerator into her tubules.

"Will the Doctor be able to remove her implants?"

"Maybe, in time. Not now."

We spoke a while longer, until he excused himself to let me get some sleep while Mollie regenerated.

I got into bed and watched her sleep. I wondered what it was she dreamt of, what she would look like, who she would become. And then, I fell asleep.

During our third night, I felt like someone was watching me. I was asleep, and it was the most peculiar sensation. I woke up, and saw Mollie, perfectly calm and wide awake in her bassinet watching me, no, studying me. For a moment, in the curiosity of her gaze as if I was a spatial enigma she wished to assimilate, she reminded me of the Borg Queen and I worried about the security risks, but dismissed those thoughts immediately. All drones observe, and this was no ordinary drone; this was my sweet little Mollie. Her two eyes watched me because babies learn from their parents. She watched me because I was Mama, and because in a room, babies always seek out their parents.

I picked her up out of the bassinet and laid her on my chest, and we slept like that until morning.

"Captain, are you okay? Captain Janeway? Are you damaged?"

Seven of Nine. Sickbay. Mollie.

"Are you damaged, Captain?"

"Mollie?"

"Is fine, Captain." The Doctor answered.

"I don't think so. What happened."

"Mollie accessed your memories." Seven said; I rubbed my wrist. "I don't believe that she wanted to harm you, but I do believe her movements were deliberate. I have never studied a Borg at this level of development."

I was too tired to argue with Seven about Mollie being Borg. "What happened, Doctor?"

"I can only surmise that you told her to hold on and she used your memories to do just that, Captain, but I really don't know. The only person who could tell us is Mollie, and when she's able to talk, she likely won't remember."

"Is she going to be okay? What caused her to destabilize?"

"I'm not sure. But I've worked on suppressing her immune system so that she doesn't reject her implants, as the shock of that… Well…"

"Yes, Doctor, I know." I held up a hand and interrupted him.

"Captain, we can talk about Mollie in the morning. I'd like you to remain here overnight for monitoring. I have no idea what Mollie did to you or if there will be any ill effects."

"Yes, Doctor."

Mollie and I shared the back lab; she was in her incubator watching a projection of fractal patterns on the ceiling and I was lying on a bio-bed next to her, watching her.

"Well, little girl, I guess we're sharing a room tonight."

Mollie looked over at me and then went back to watching fractals. I had the most disconcerting feeling that her first words wouldn't be Mama, but that they would be an explanation of quantum physics or of temporal mechanics.

"Oh, Miss Mollie Shannon, Amelia Janeway, I'm going to have my hands full with you, aren't I?" I said, mostly to myself, though Mollie looked over at me again and extended and retracted her tubules several times. "That's a yes, little lady, isn't it?" Mollie held eye contact with me until the Doctor walked in to scan us both.

AN: Thank you all so, so, so much! I could never have predicted the response that this story would receive, and I am completely bowled over and thrilled and humbled and many other adjectives, too! I love you all.


	6. Chapter 6

Mollie Shannon Amelia, Chapter 6

After three days in Sickbay, during which time the Doctor ran every single test known by his databases, including a few I suspect he made up to prevent me from leaving, and several scans and tests performed by Seven of Nine, I was allowed to return to our quarters. Of course, I'd wanted to leave with Mollie, and I was not prepared for life without her around me at all times. I went back for as many visits as the Doctor would allow me.

During all of my time in Sickbay, I'd noticed that Mollie watched Seven of Nine. I couldn't decide if it was with fear or concern, or with recognition, maybe even a type of admiration. I noticed that Mollie was colder when Seven was around us. Her body temperature was lower—more Borg—and she didn't smile or glurp, even her fits were more subdued. I told myself it that it was because Seven had saved a Borg child, and then had reassimilated her when her surgery failed that Mollie acted that way. That somehow she knew that she was Borg, and nothing else. When I held her, I'd tell her about the beauty of individuality, and that there was nothing wrong with emotion, that it was okay to be something other than Borg. Seven, Icheb, Rebi, Azan, and Mezoti were proof of that. That she was Mollie Janeway and not a drone, and that I loved her and that I would love whomever she decided to become. It just wasn't safe for her to remain a drone outside of the Collective.

She played with her tubules for a bit, watching them, and then she looked deeply into my eyes, like she was studying the universe that I contained.

"Can you help us to restore your body?" It seemed ridiculous, even as the words were coming out of my mouth, that this little baby could do something that would help us remove her implants, but it also seemed ridiculous that we'd never asked her if there was anything she could do. She was Borg, after all.

Her tubules came out, piercing my breast near my heart. I could feel Mollie inside of me. Her thoughts mingling with mine.

"We are Borg."

"Yes."

"We seek perfection."

"You are perfect."

"You wish to take it away from us."

"I love you, Mollie. I want you to live. Please, live."

"Mama?" A smaller voice. I'd never heard it before but I knew it was Mollie's.

"I'm here, baby. I love you. Can you help us? We need to remove your implants, baby."

"You wish to alter us, to make us in your image. Images and vanity are irrelevant."

"Mama, are you still there?"

"I will never leave you, Mollie."

"Mama? They're so loud! I'm scared."

"Mollie, listen to my voice. Find me, Mollie. Find me, find Mama."

Just as she was beginning to poke through the sea of drones, Mollie's thoughts were gone.

"Doctor!" I yelled. It hit me immediately. Mollie's link was not fully severed. He and Seven spent the afternoon working, while Mollie and I checked in with Chakotay.

All along, Mollie had been fighting. Her individuality and her Borg halves fighting for her life. "Hold on, baby," I'd tell her when her eyes looked cold and hard, "We're gonna win this one."

"We're going to win." My captain's voice; one I'd used often with Harry. My certainty seemed to steady Mollie. I hoped it would steady me, too.

~TBC~

A/N: I know this is a short chapter, and that it's been about a week since I updated. I'm so sorry! Life got crazy again. But, re: the short chapter—for the past few chapters, I've had two ideas for where this story might go, and I don't know which path it will travel. I've really been enjoying little Mollie, so I haven't worried about the future plot, but I don't think I'll be able to put the decision off for very much longer. You rock. Thank you so much for reading this crazy idea of a rewrite. Your readership, and your follows, favorites, and reviews make my day. Love you all.


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